Submesoscale variability of the current and wind fields in the coastal region of Sochi

The results of direct high temporal resolution (10 min) measurements of the surface and bottom currents and wind stress in the coastal zone of Sochi in May 2009 are presented. An analysis of the mesoscale and submesoscale variability of the current velocity and wind stress is performed on the basis of these measurements, and their correlation is studied. The principal high-frequency and low-frequency components of the current velocity variability are identified. In the majority of the observation cases, the coastal currents reveal no significant correlation with the mean wind over the studied region. However, the correlations between the currents and the spatial variability of wind are explained well by the local topography.     

黑潮流区次中尺度热量输运特征 ——以2013年1月模拟结果为例

作为中尺度过程与小尺度过程中的过渡,次中尺度过程[空间尺度为O(1～10)km,时间尺度为O(1)天]是海洋动力过程中重要的一环。海洋次中尺度过程具有明显的非地转特征,从而促进垂向热量和物质的输运,因此在海洋上层热量与物质垂直交换中肩负着极为重要的作用。黑潮作为全球最强的西边界流之一,是海洋能量的重要聚集区。针对黑潮流区大尺度环流和中尺度涡旋等动力过程的研究,受到海洋和气象学者的广泛关注,但对黑潮流区次中尺度过程的相关研究相对较少。本文基于高分辨率ROMS数值模式(空间分辨率为1公里),针对黑潮流区(25.5°～29.4°N, 124.4°～131°E)次中尺度过程的空间分布特征及其诱导的热量输运特征进行了研究。模拟结果表明,黑潮流区存在着十分活跃的次中尺度过程,尤其是在黑潮流区及岛屿周边等地形变化剧烈的海区。相对涡度和垂直流速的分布特征表明,次中尺度相对涡度和垂向流速上表现出了明显的不对称性,正相对涡度强于负相对涡度,向下垂向流速强于向上垂向流速,而这主要是由惯性不稳定所导致。通过计算次中尺度引起的热量输运,结果表明次中尺度的水平热量通量为东北方向,从较低纬度朝较高纬度输运,这意味着次中尺度可以促进不同纬度的热量交换;而垂向热量通量则表现出向上输运的特征,即由深层往表层输运,这意味着次中尺度过程可以导致热量在垂直方向上的再分配,从而使得海洋趋于再分层。     

Modeling Black Sea circulation with high resolution in the coastal zone

We present a numerical model of Black Sea circulation based on primitive equations with improved spatial resolution in the coastal zone. The model equations are formulated in a two-pole orthogonal coordinate system with arbitrary locations of the poles and a vertical σ coordinate. Increased horizontal resolution is gained by displacing the pole into the vicinity of the separated subdomain. The problem is solved over a grid with a variable step. The northern coordinate pole is displaced to the vicinity of Gelendzhik; the grid step varies from 150 m in the coastal zone to 4.6 km in the main basin. We simulated the fields of currents, sea level, temperature, and salinity under the given atmospheric forcing in 2007. The model is capable of reproducing the large-scale Black Sea circulation and submesoscale variations in the coastal currents.     

Technique for Simulation of Black Sea Circulation with Increased Resolution in the Area of the IO RAS Polygon

A numerical technique is presented for simulating the hydrophysical fields of the Black Sea on a variable-step grid with refinement in the area of IO RAS polygon. Model primitive equations are written in spherical coordinates with an arbitrary arrangement of poles. In order to increase the horizontal resolution of the coastal zone in the area of the IO RAS polygon in the northeastern part of the sea near Gelendzhik, one of the poles is placed at a land point (38.35° E, 44.75° N). The model horizontal resolution varies from 150 m in the area of the IO RAS polygon to 4.6 km in the southwestern part of the Black Sea. The numerical technique makes it possible to simulate a large-scale structure of Black Sea circulation as well as the meso- and submesoscale dynamics of the coastal zone. In order to compute the atmospheric forcing, the results of the regional climate model WRF with a resolution of about 10 km in space and 1 h in time are used. In order to demonstrate the technique, Black Sea hydrophysical fields for 2011–2012 and a passive tracer transport representing self-cleaning of Gelendzhik Bay in July 2012 are simulated.     

Numerical analysis of the mesoscale features of circulation in the Black Sea coastal zone

The results of simulating the hydrophysical fields of the Black Sea with a resolution of 1.64 × 1.64 km for January–September 2006 with the use of real atmospheric forcing are analyzed. Both vertical turbulent momentum exchange and vertical turbulent heat and salt diffusions are parameterized using the Mellor-Yamada level 2.5 scheme. The results of this numerical experiment are compared with similar data obtained with a horizontal resolution of 5 km. The features of the meso- and submesoscale dynamics of waters in individual sea regions are given. Possible physical mechanisms of forming meso- and submesoscale vortices are studied on the basis of energy analysis. It is shown that, in the absence of significant wind forcing, the main contribution to kinetic energy is made by the buoyancy force and wind-field inhomogeneities result in significant variations in both total vertical viscosity and total vertical diffusion.     

涡分辨率的南海区域海洋环流模式构建技术研究

针对复杂海洋中尺度现象模拟仿真的技术难题,利用区域海洋环流模式ROMS,通过模式的网格构建、地形处理以及模式的初始场和强迫场处理技术,构建出一套涡分辨率南海区域海洋环流模式。通过模式模拟结果与卫星遥感实测资料等对比,发现该模式能够较好地模拟出南海涡旋及其引发的海温异常等海洋中小尺度过程,说明该模式可作为研究复杂海洋中尺度现象影响海军武器装备效能的环境数值仿真手段。     

Mixed layer formation and restratification in presence of mesoscale and submesoscale turbulence

Recent realistic high resolution modeling studies show a net increase of submesoscale activity in fall and winter when the mixed layer depth is at its maximum. This submesoscale activity increase is associated with a reduced deepening of the mixed layer. Both phenomena can be related to the development of mixed layer instabilities, which convert available potential energy into submesoscale eddy kinetic energy and contribute to a fast restratification by slumping the horizontal density gradient in the mixed layer. In the present work, the mixed layer formation and restratification were studied by uniformly cooling a fully turbulent zonal jet in a periodic channel at different resolutions, from eddy resolving (10 km) to submesoscale permitting (2 km). The effect of the submesoscale activity, highlighted by these different horizontal resolutions, was quantified in terms of mixed layer depth, restratification rate and buoyancy fluxes. Contrary to many idealized studies focusing on the restratification phase only, this study addresses a continuous event of mixed layer formation followed by its complete restratification. The robustness of the present results was established by ensemble simulations. The results show that, at higher resolution, when submesoscale starts to be resolved, the mixed layer formed during the surface cooling is significantly shallower and the total restratification is almost three times faster. Such differences between coarse and fine resolution models are consistent with the submesoscale upward buoyancy flux, which balances the convection during the formation phase and accelerates the restratification once the surface cooling is stopped. This submesoscale buoyancy flux is active even below the mixed layer. Our simulations show that mesoscale dynamics also cause restratification, but on longer time scales. Finally, the spatial distribution of the mixed layer depth is highly heterogeneous in the presence of submesoscale activity, prompting the question of whether it is possible to parameterize submesoscale effects and their effects on the marine biology as a function of a spatially-averaged mixed layer depth.     

Modeling of wind upwellings on the northwest shelf of the Black Sea near local features of the bottom topography

We discuss the results of numerical experiments aimed at the investigation of the process of formation of the three-dimensional structure of the zones of upwelling on the northwest shelf of the Black Sea depending on the direction of the wind. We perform the detailed analysis of three zones (I, II, and III) with fairly well pronounced inhomogeneities of the bottom topography. Zone I is located in the north part of the shelf and, in this region, we observe a narrow depression to the southwest of the Tendrovskaya Spit. In zone II located in the near-Danube zone, we observe a height reaching the sea surface (Zmeinyi Island). Zone III is located in the east part of the shelf and corresponds to a sharp drop of depths with specific curvature of the coastal line of the Kalamitskii Bay and Gerakleiskii Peninsula. The performed analysis enables us to conclude that, in the vicinity of the local features of the bottom topography and coastal line (such as underwater heights, depressions, and capes), we observe the appearance of the zones of upwelling of waters, especially pronounced in the deep-water layers of the sea. __________ Translated from Morskoi Gidrofizicheskii Zhurnal, No. 3, pp. 68–80, May–June, 2008.     

Mesoscale structure of the fields of vertical velocity and vorticity of winds over the Black Sea

On the basis of a simple stationary linear model and a contemporary nonlinear model, we study the mesoscale characteristics of the fields of vertical velocity and vorticity of winds over the Black Sea. It is shown that, in the idealized case (without taking into account the coastal features), the temperature contrast between the land and the sea in both models leads to the formation of circulation cells in the coastal zone. However, the mountainous features prove to be the main factor affecting the process of circulation for the actual synoptic situations. We present the map of monthly average vorticity of the surface winds constructed according to the nonlinear mesoscale model with a resolution of 30 km for January 1996–2001. __________ Translated from Morskoi Gidrofizicheskii Zhurnal, No. 1, pp. 52–61, January–February, 2005.     

南海北部深水区东西构造差异性及其动力学机制

This paper overviews research progress in observation, theoretical analysis and numerical modeling of submesoscale dynamic processes in the South China Sea(SCS) particularly during recent five years. The submesoscale processes are defined according to both spatial and dynamic scales, and divided into four subcategories as submesoscale waves, submesoscale vortexes, submesoscale shelf processes, and submesoscale turbulence. The major new findings are as follows.(1) Systematic mooring observations provide new insights into the solitary waves(ISWs) and the typhoon-forced near-inertial waves(NIWs), of which a new type of ISWs with period of 23 h was observed in the northern SCS(NSCS), and the influences of background vorticity, summer monsoon onset, and deep meridional overturning circulation on the NIWs, as well as nonlinear wave-wave interaction between the NIWs and internal tides, are better understood. On the other hand, satellite altimeter sea surface height data are used to reveal the internal tide radiation patterns and provide solid evidence for that the ISWs in the northeastern SCS originate from the Luzon Strait.(2) Submesoscale offshore jets and associated vortex trains off the Vietnam coast in the western boundary of the SCS were observed from satellite chlorophyll concentration images. Spiral trains with the horizontal scale of 15–30 km and the spacing of 50–80 km were identified.(3) 3-D vertical circulation in the upwelling region east of Hainan Island was theoretically analyzed. The results show that distribution patterns of all the dynamic terms are featured by wave-like structures with horizontal wavelength scale of 20–40 km.(4) Numerical models have been used for the research of submesoscale turbulence. Submesoscale vertical pump of an anticyclonic eddy and the spatiotemporal features of submesoscale processes in the northeastern SCS are well modeled.     

Modeling vertical motion at ocean fronts: Are nonhydrostatic effects relevant at submesoscales?

Through a suite of three-dimensional, high-resolution numerical modeling experiments, we examine the role of nonhydrostatic effects on O(1 km) submesoscale processes at ocean fronts, with particular focus on the vertical velocity field. Several differences between nonhydrostatic and hydrostatic models are pointed out using a framework that enables precise comparison, but it is difficult to identify categorical differences between the model solutions at the grid resolutions afforded. The instantaneous vertical velocity structure is sensitive to the model choice and, even more so, to grid resolution, but the average vertical flux is similar in both hydrostatic and nonhydrostatic cases.When a frontal region with horizontal density gradients is perturbed by wind, a profusion of submesoscale, O(1 km), secondary circulation features develops in the upper 50 m. Narrow, elongated cells of intense up- and down-welling are found to occur close to the surface, overlying broader regions of weaker up- and down-welling associated with the mesoscale meanders of the baroclinically unstable front. The submesoscale down-welling is considerably stronger than up-welling and is concentrated in 1–2 km width filaments within which velocities can attain magnitudes as high as 200 m day⁻¹. The submesoscale features are found to be robust at horizontal grid resolutions varying between 1 and 0.25 km and exist even in the hydrostatic model. Submesoscale circulation is difficult to observe or resolve in coarser resolution circulation models, but is likely to play a significant role in the exchange of energy and properties between the surface ocean and thermocline. Possible mechanisms for the generation of these features are investigated in a follow-on paper.     

黑潮延伸体海域次中尺度过程的季节变化研究

近年来的现场观测和理论研究发现, 次中尺度现象广泛存在于上层海洋, 其产生与锋生作用及混合层斜压不稳定存在密切联系。本文利用高分辨率的数值模拟结果并结合动力学及能量诊断分析, 对黑潮延伸体海域次中尺度过程的季节变化进行了探讨。探讨结果表明, 黑潮延伸体海域次中尺度过程具有冬季最强, 春季和秋季次之, 夏季最弱的显著季节变化特征。基于冬、夏季次中尺度能量源的诊断可以看到, 这些季节变化特征主要与上层海洋的斜压不稳定和锋生作用有关。冬季, 黑潮延伸体海域的中尺度能量较弱, 但次中尺度过程在季节尺度上表现最为活跃, 这主要与混合层斜压不稳定的作用有关; 夏季, 黑潮延伸体海域的混合层较浅, 次中尺度过程较弱, 但中尺度涡旋活跃, 中尺度流场变形引起的锋生作用对夏季次中尺度现象的产生具有重要影响。在次中尺度能量的季节变化方面, 冬季次中尺度过程从中尺度过程汲取能量的速率远高于夏季, 这是冬季次中尺度过程比夏季更为活跃的主要原因。本文研究结果有助于加深对黑潮延伸体海域次中尺度过程季节性变化及其动力机制的理解。     

Modeling meso- and sub-mesoscale circulation along the eastern Crimean coast using numerical calculations

A numerical experiment has been carried out using a hydrodynamical model with nonlinear equations of motion and heat and salt advection to reconstruct the fields of hydrophysical parameters taking into account the real atmospheric forcing for the autumn season along the southern coast of the Crimean Peninsula. The studied part of the coast is situated at 44.25°N 33.95°E/44.72°N 34.55°E. High spatial resolution is used for modeling: 350 m in the horizontal plane with 38 layers in the vertical; the bottom topography is described in detail with ~500 m resolution. Detected and studied meso- and sub-mesoscale structures in the current field agree well with the observational data, which is impossible or hard to identify in numerical experiments with coarser resolution. Their kinematic characteristics and the lifetime are defined and some mechanisms of their origin are suggested.     

Zooplankton distribution and cross-shelf transfer of carbon in an area of complex mesoscale circulation in the northern California Current

We conducted a research cruise in late summer (July–August) 2000 to study the effect of mesoscale circulation features on zooplankton distributions in the coastal upwelling ecosystem of the northern California Current. Our study area was in a region of complex coastline and bottom topography between Newport, Oregon (44.7°N), and Crescent City, California (41.9°N). Winds were generally strong and equatorward for >6 weeks prior to the cruise, resulting in the upwelling of cold, nutrient-rich water along the coast and an alongshore upwelling jet. In the northern part of the study area, the jet followed the bottom topography, creating a broad, retentive area nearshore over a submarine shelf bank (Heceta Bank, 44–44.4°N). In the south, a meander of the jet extended seaward off of Cape Blanco (42.8°N), resulting in the displacement of coastal water and the associated coastal taxa to >100 km off the continental shelf. Zooplankton biomass was high both over the submarine bank and offshore in the meander of the upwelling jet. We used velocities and standing stocks of plankton in the upper 100 m to estimate that 1×10⁶ m³ of water, containing an average zooplankton biomass of ～20 mg carbon m^?3, was transported seaward across the 2000-m isobath in the meandering jet each second. That flux equated to offshore transport of >900 metric tons of carbon each day, and 4–5×10⁴ tons over the 6–8 week lifetime of the circulation feature. Thus, mesoscale circulation can create disparate regions in which zooplankton populations are retained over the shelf and biomass can accumulate or, alternatively, in which high biomass is advected offshore to the oligotrophic deep sea.     

地形对陆架拦截波性质及机制的影响

陆架波的性质如频散关系、形成机制等受地形影响。研究地形对陆架波的性质影响具有重要意义。基于陆架拦截波理论,数值计算了分段线性地形下不同宽度陆架上陆架拦截波的频散关系、长波假设下波动的相速度、阻尼情况下的波动耗散率以及强迫波的外力影响因子。分析了陆架宽度及坡度对自由及强迫陆架拦截波性质的影响。陆架宽度影响陆架拦截波的频散关系。陆架变宽,使得长波频散曲线的斜率增大。陆架宽度的增加使第一模态陆架拦截波有明显的性质变化:相速度增大,波动受辐散影响的程度变大,摩擦衰减距离增大,且风应力旋度在波动的生成机制中起到的作用渐强。在宽的陆架上,研究陆架拦截波的生成及强迫波的振幅时,应充分考虑风应力旋度的作用。第二、三模态波动的相速度受陆架坡度的影响较大,但摩擦衰减距离基本都在200km左右,几乎不随陆架宽度改变,属于局地波。     

Numerical analysis of hydrophysical fields on the northwestern shelf of the Black Sea

A numerical experiment with assimilation of hydrological observational data from a survey in October 2007 on the northwestern shelf of the Black Sea was carried out using the hydrodynamic model with nonlinear equations of motion, equations of heat and salt advection, and data assimilation. The results of this calculation are compared with thermohydrodynamic fields obtained without taking into account temperature and salinity measurements. It is shown that allowance for the observation data leads to qualitative and quantitative differences in the structure of the hydrophysical fields. Mesoscale eddies and intense jet streams that agree with satellite observations were found in the field of currents and were investigated. These eddies are not resolved in low-resolution field experiments.     

Evaluation of a dynamically downscaled atmospheric reanalyse in the prospect of forcing long term simulations of the ocean circulation in the Gulf of Lions

The paper evaluates atmospheric reanalysis as possible forcing of model simulations of the ocean circulation inter-annual variability in the Gulf of Lions in the Western Mediterranean Sea between 1990 and 2000. The sensitivity of the coastal atmospheric patterns to the model resolution is investigated using the REMO regional climate model (18 km, 1 h), and the recent global atmospheric reanalysis ERA40 (125 km, 6 h). At scales from a few years to a few days, both atmospheric data sets exhibit a very similar weather, and agreement between REMO and ERA40 is especially good on the seasonal cycle and at the daily variability scale. At smaller scales, REMO reproduces more realistic spatio-temporal patterns in the ocean forcing: specific wind systems, particular atmospheric behaviour on the shelf, diurnal cycle, sea-breeze. Ocean twin experiments (1990–1993) clearly underline REMO skills to drive dominant oceanic processes in this microtidal area. Finer wind patterns induce a more realistic circulation and hydrology of the shelf water: unique shelf circulation, upwelling, temperature and salinity exchanges at the shelf break. The hourly sampling of REMO introduces a diurnal forcing which enhances the behaviour of the ocean mixed layer. In addition, the more numerous wind extremes modify the exchanges at the shelf break: favouring the export of dense shelf water, enhancing the mesoscale variability and the interactions of the along slope current with the bathymetry.     

Coastal Upwelling Activity on the Pacific Shelf of the Baja California Peninsula

High primary productivity on the Pacific coast of the Baja California Peninsula is usually related to coastal upwelling activity that injects nutrients into the euphotic zone in response to prevailing longshore winds (from the northwest to north). The upwelling process has maximum intensity from April to June, with the coastal upwelling index varying from 50 to 300 m³/s per 100 m of coastline. Along the entire coast of the peninsula, the upwelling intensity changes in accordance with local wind conditions and bottom topography. Spatial variability can also be modulated by the influence of mesoscale meanders of the California Current. We have identified the seasonal and synoptic variability of upwelling signatures on the Baja California shelf, using averaged monthly and weekly sea surface temperature (SST) distributions obtained from remote sensing imagery from the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer in the period from 1996 to 2001. Analysis of SST distribution and direct experimental data on temperature and nutrient concentration shows that the areas with the coldest SST anomalies were closely related to the bottom slope, shelf width, and coastline orientation relating to wind direction. We also assume that the nutrient transport into the coastal lagoons may be forced by the coupling of coastal upwelling and tidal pumping of surface waters into the lagoon system. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Morphometric characteristics and ruggedness of the bottom topography in the north part of the Black Sea

On the basis of the data array of detailed echosounding surveys carried out from the research vessels of the Marine Hydrophysical Institute of the Ukrainian National Academy of Sciences and other institutions and the corresponding cartographic materials, we perform the numerical analyses of the morphometric characteristics of the bottom topography of the northwest shelf of the Black Sea and the underwater margin of the Crimea. We reveal the specific features of the main types of morphological structures and analyze the values of the bottom slopes and the vertical and horizontal ruggednesses of the bottom. The ruggedness of the bottom has a low-frequency character reflecting a noticeable smoothness of the topography. The large regional structures of the surrounding land represented by the East-European platform and the Crimean-Caucasian orogen directly affect the formation of topography in the analyzed region. The agreement between the contemporary digital data arrays on the bottom topography and the data of echosounding surveys in the Black Sea is estimated.